_________________________________________ / A certain monk had a habit of pestering \ | the Grand Tortue (the only one who had | | ever reached the Enlightenment 'Yond | | Enlightenment), by asking whether | | various objects had Buddha-nature or | | not. To such a question Tortue | | invariably sat silent. The monk had | | already asked about a bean, a lake, and | | a moonlit night. One day he brought to | | Tortue a piece of string, and asked the | | same question. In reply, the Grand | | Tortue grasped the loop between his | | feet and, with a few simple | | manipulations, created a complex string | | which he proferred wordlessly to the | | monk. At that moment, the monk was | | enlightened. | | | | From then on, the monk did not bother | | Tortue. Instead, he made string after | | string by Tortue's method; and he | | passed the method on to his own | \ disciples, who passed it on to theirs. / ----------------------------------------- \ ^__^ \ (oo)\_______ (__)\ )\/\ ||----w | || ||